Chainsaw (2007)

Director: Dennis Tupicoff

Tagline: Ride ‘em cowboy!

I first saw this short on SBS one night, so it was great to see it in a festival environment. The story mixes the lives of a country couple, a bull named Chainsaw, a Spanish bull-fighter and Hollywood glamour.

The film is animated with an interesting style of flat colour and bold lines, with video footage mixed in and lots of stylistic touches.

I liked the chainsaw safety video at the start that also serves as an introduction to two of the main characters Ava and Frank. A few years later Ava is bored with her job and looking for something different, Frank is happy and loves Ava. When Ava falls for a bronco rider at the rodeo the scene is set for a strange outcome when Frank catches them in the act.

I also enjoyed the music and also found out that someone I know played steel guitar on the soundtrack when I went to see him later in the day.

A funny and strange short, hopefully the team involved do more work in the future.

Rating: 8/10